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100 Best Nonfiction Books
Pre-kindergarten through Grade 8
Selected and annotated by Judy Freeman
Here are the hundred nonfiction books that have had the most impact on my teaching, have broken new ground, have taught me something extraordinary, and have wowed readers. These books are unforgettable for both adults and for children. Read them aloud, talk about them, and leave them around the house or classroom for children to pore over.
These books are listed by subject below.
ART
BIOGRAPHIES
FOLKLORE
LANGUAGE, SONGS AND POETRY
MATH AND SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
* denotes out of print titles. You may want to look for these books in your local library.
ANIMALS
Animal Fact/Animal Fable*
by Seymour Simon, illustrated by Diane de Groat
Crown, 1987
Grades K-3
Giants of the Land, Sea and Air, Past and Present*
by David Peters
Knopf, 1986
Grades K-6
Hummingbirds: Jewels in the Sky
by Esther Quesada Tyrrell, photos by Robert A. Tyrrell
Crown, 1992
Grades 3-6
It's an Armadillo
by Bianca Lavies
Puffin, 1994
Grades K-4
Koko's Kitten
by Dr. Francine Patterson, photos by Ronald H. Cohn.
Scholastic, 1987
Grades 2-6
Owls in the Family
by Farley Mowat, illustrated by Robert Frankenberg
Laureleaf, 1996
Grades 3-6
Red-Eyed Tree Frog
by Joy Cowley, photos by Nic Bishop
Scholastic, 1999
PreK-Grade 2
Those Amazing Ants
by Patricia Brennan Demuth, illustrated by S. D. Schindler
Simon & Schuster, 1994
PreK-Grade 2
To the Top of the World: Adventures with Arctic Wolves
by Jim Brandenburg
Walker, 1995
Grades 4-8
Urban Roosts: Where Birds Nest in the City
by Barbara Bash
Little Brown, 1992
Grades 3-6
ART
Family Pictures / Cuadros de Familia
by Carmen Lomas Garza
Children's Book Press, 1993
Grades K-4
Linnea in Monet's Garden
by Christina Bjork, illustrated by Lena Anderson
Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1987
Grades 3-6
Pyramid
by David Macaulay
Houghton Mifflin, 1982
Grades 4-8
A Short Walk Around the Pyramids and Through the World of Art
by Philip M. Isaacson
Knopf, 1993
Grades 5-8
Talking with Artists (series)
by Pat Cummings (editor)
Simon & Schuster, 1992
Grades 3-7
BIOGRAPHIES
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Margot Tomes
Paper Star, 1996
Grades 2-6
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
Prentice Hall, 1993
Grade 7-adult
Author: A True Story
by Helen Lester
Houghton Mifflin, 1997
Grades K-4
Boy: Tales of Childhood
by Roald Dahl
Puffin, 2001
Grades 4-8
Chuck Close Up Close
by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
DK Publishing, 2000
Grades 4-8
Eleanor
by Barbara Cooney
Puffin, 1999
Grades 1-4
Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh
by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Mike Wimmer
Philomel, 1991
Grades 2-6
Leonardo Da Vinci
by Diane Stanley
HarperTrophy, 2000
Grades 4-8
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
Scott Foresman, 1989
Grades 5-8
Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought)
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
Harcourt, 2000
Grades 4-8
Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought)
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
Harcourt, 1998
Grades 4-8
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Terry Widener
Voyager Picture Book, 2001
Grades 2-5
My Great Aunt Arizona
by Gloria Houston, illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb
Harpercollins, 1992
Grades K-6
Sky Pioneer: A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart
by Corinne Szabo
National Geographic Society, 1997
Grades 3-8
Snowflake Bentley
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian
Houghton Mifflin, 1998
Grades 1-6
Teammates
by Peter Golenbock, illustrated by Paul Bacon
Harcourt, 1992
Grades 2-6
William Shakespeare and the Globe
by Aliki
HarperCollins, 2000
Grades 2-8
Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by David Diaz
Harcourt, 1996
Grades 2-5
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane
by Russell Freedman
Holiday House, 1994
Grades 5-8
FOLKLORE
The Boy Who Lived with the Bears and Other Iroquois Stories
by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Murv Jacob
Harpercollins, 1995
Grades 1-6
Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes: A Book of String Games
by Camilla Gryski, illustrated by Tom Sankey
Morrow, 1984
Grades 2-6
The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories
by Harold Courlander and George Herzog, illustrated by Madye Lee Chastain
Econo-Clad, 1999
Grades 2-6
Echoes of the Elders: The Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska*
by Chief Lelooska, edited by Andrea Danese
DK Publishing, 1997
Grades 3-6
From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs
by Amy L. Cohn, illustrated by Molly Bang
Scholastic, 1993
Grades 1-6
Grandfather Tales
by Richard Chase (editor), illustrated by Berkeley Williams
Houghton Mifflin, 1990
Grades 1-6
In a Circle Long Ago: A Treasury of Native Lore from North America
by Nancy Van Laan, illustrated by Lisa Desimini
Knopf, 1995
Grades K-5
Juba This and Juba That: Story Hour Stretches for Large or Small Groups*
by Virginia Tashjian, illustrated by Victoria de Larrea
Little Brown, 1969
PreK-Grade 4
The Knee-High Man and Other Tales*
by Julius Lester, illustrated by Ralph Pinto
E. P. Dutton, 1985
Grades 2-5
The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales
by Diane Wolkstein, illustrated by Elsa Henriquez
Schocken, 1997
Grades 2-6
Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa
by Verna Aardema (editor), illustrated by Reynold Ruffins
Knopf, 1994
Grades K-5
North American Legends
by Virginia Haviland, illustrated by Ann Strugnell
Putnam, 1981
Grades 4-8
Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger
by Glen Rounds
Holiday House, 1988
Grades 4-6
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
by Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Stephen Gammell
HarperTrophy, 1986
Grades 3-6
Tales from Grimm
by Jacob Grimm, retold and illustrated by Wanda Gag
Putnam, 1981
Grades 2-6
The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit
by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Puffin, 1999
Grades 2-6
The Thing at the Foot of the Bed and Other Scary Tales
by Maria Leach (editor), illustrated by Kurt Werth
Dell, 1990
Grades 4-6
When Birds Could Talk & Bats Could Sing
by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Barry Moser
Scholastic, 1996
Grades 2-5
LANGUAGE, SONGS AND POETRY
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
by Valerie Worth, illustrated by Natalie Babbitt
Sunburst, 1996
Grades 3-8
And the Green Grass Grew All Around: Folk Poetry from Everyone
By Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Sue Truesdale
HarperCollins, 1992
Grades 2-6
Eats*
by Arnold Adoff, illustrated by Susan Russo
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1979
Grades 1-6
Eric Carle's Animals, Animals
By Laura Whipple (compiler), illustrated by Eric Carle
Puffin, 1999
Grades K-6
The Fireside Book of Fun and Game Songs
by Marie Winn (editor), illustrated by Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Simon & Schuster, 1974
Grades K-6
Gonna Sing My Head Off!: American Folk Songs for Children
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Allen Garns
Knopf, 1992
Grades K-5
A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me: A Book of Nonsense Verse
by Wallace Tripp
Little Brown, 1974
Grades K-5
How Now, Brown Cow?
by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Amanda Schaffer
Voyager Picture Book, 1998
Grades 1-6
If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries: Poems for Children and Their Parents
by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lynne Cherry
Atheneum, 1981
Grades 2-6
Insectlopedia: Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian
Harcourt, 1998
Grades 2-6
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Eric Beddows
Harpercollins, 1992
Grades 3-8
Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry
by X. J. Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy (editors), illustrated by Karen Lee Baker
Little Brown, 1999
Grades 4-8
My Very First Mother Goose
by Iona Archibald Opie (editor), illustrated by Rosemary Wells
Candlewick, 1996
PreK-Grade 1
The New Kid on the Block
by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson
Greenwillow, 1984
Grades 1-6
Now We Are Six
by A. A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
Dutton, 1988
PreK-Grade 3
The Random House Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel (editor)
Random House, 1986
PreK-Grade 1
Rocket in My Pocket: The Rhymes and Chants of Young Americans
by Carl Withers, illustrated by Susanne Suba
Henry Holt, 1988
Grades K-6
Say Hola to Spanish
by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Loretta Lopez
Lee & Low, 1998
Grades 1-6
Splish Splash
by Joan Bransfield Graham, illustrated by Steven Scott
Sandpiper, 2001
Grades K-4
Tail Feathers from Mother Goose: The Opie Rhyme Book
by Peter and Iona Archibald Opie
Little Brown, 1991
PreK-Grade 2
This Land Is Your Land
by Woody Guthrie, illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen
Little Brown, 1998
Grades K-6
Tomfoolery: Trickery and Foolery with Words*
By Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Glen Rounds
Lippincott, 1973
Grades 2-6
Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose
by Tomie dePaola
Putnam, 1985
PreK- Grade 2
When We Were Very Young
by A. A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
Dutton, 1988
PreK-Grade 3
Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein
Harpercollins, 1974
Grades 1-6
MATH AND SCIENCE
Bet You Can't: Science Impossibilities to Fool You
by Vicki Cobb and Kathy Darling, illustrated by Martha Weston
Avon, 1983
Grades 3-6
Bridges Are to Cross
by Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Giles Laroche
Putnam, 1998
Grades 1-4
A Drop of Water
by Walter Wick
Scholastic, 1997
Grades 3-6
It's Perfectly Normal: A Book About Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health
by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley
Candlewick, 1994
Grades 5-8
Hottest Coldest Highest Deepest
by Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin, 1998
Grades K-3
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World
by Faith McNulty, illustrated by Marc Simont
Scott Foresman, 1990
Grades 1-4
How Much Is a Million?
by David M. Schwartz, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Mulberry, 1993
Grades K-4
Measuring Penny
by Loreen Leedy
Henry Holt, 2000
Grades 1-4
Volcanoes
by Seymour Simon
Morrow, 1988
Grades 2-6
The Way Things Work
by David Macaulay
Mulberry, 1995
Grade 6-adult
SOCIAL STUDIES
Buffalo Hunt
by Russell Freedman
Holiday House, 1995
Grades 5-8
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
Clarion, 1990
Grades 3-8
The Children We Remember
by Chana Byers Abells
Greenwillow, 1986
Grades 3-8
Exploring the Titanic
by Robert D. Ballard
Econo-Clad, 1999
Grades 4-8
Inca & Spaniard: Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru
by Albert Marrin
Atheneum, 1989
Grades 7-12
The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark
by Rhoda Blumberg
Demco Media, 1995
Grades 4-8
People
by Peter Spier
Doubleday, 1988
Grades K-8
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance
by Jennifer Armstrong
Random House, 2000
Grades 6-12
Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust
by Barbara Rogasky
Holiday House, 2002
Grades 6-12
So You Want to Be President?
by Judith St. George, illustrated by David Small
Philomel, 2000
Grades 3-6
Through My Eyes
by Ruby Bridges
Scholastic, 1999
Grades 4-8
Turn of the Century
by Ellen B. Jackson, illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis
Charlesbridge, 1998
Grades 2-5
We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History
by Phillip M. Hoose
Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2001
Grades 5-12
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